Don't forget to breathe!

I spent the last few hours of 2011 finishing the fouth and last book in the Discarded Heroes: Firethorn.

I knew the book would be good because I have thoroughly enjoyed reading the preceding titles in the series: Nightshade, Digitalis, & Wolfsbane. I was not disappointed.

Once again, we join the NightshadeTeam, an off-the-books, black-ops-type military response team. Specifically, Griffin "Legend" Riddell.

Someone with seemingly limitless resources has decided to permanently disband the Nightshade Team and destroy them, their families, and anyone who tries to help. Every grudge-holding, gun-wielding bad guy comes out of the woodwork to get a piece of Nightshade, tearing the team to shreds, and leaving them battered, bleeding, imprisoned, and flung to the corners of the earth.

Enter Kazimiera Faronsky. A polish-born spy and mercenary for hire. She might be the only person capable of putting the pieces of Nightshade back together, but she has her own demons actively trying to take her down.

When tiny, blond-haired Kazi rescues massive, African-American Nightshade-member Griffin from a maximum-security Federal prison the race is on to rescue and reassemble the rest of the team before they're all killed. Can these two diametrically opposed forces work together long enough to save the team? Or will they kill each other in the process? Will they learn to give up control so God can take over? Or will their desire to control everything destroy everything?

This story explodes off the pages at a dead run and speeds up with every page you turn. Ronie Kendig's writing is so tight and fast-paced that at times I forgot to breathe. The firefights, explosions, and hand-to-hand combat scenes are written and described so well that I could see it all as clearly as if it were playing out on screen at the movie theater. The scenes in the book are so vivid, I even found myself dreaming parts of the book. And for me that's unusual. I read. A Lot! But very rarely, and I mean only once or twice in my life, do I ever dream about a book I've read!

Speaking of the movie theater. This is a series that deserves to be played out on the big screen. I wish someone would film it in a way that would do it justice and keep the messages in the books intact. Because if they did, this series, in my humble opinion, beats the Bourne trilogy to smithereens!

So, run, don't walk, to your nearest book provider and get a copy of Firethorn. If you haven't read any of the series, grab a copy of Nightshade and enter the heart-pounding, pulse-racing world of the Discarded Heroes.They are books that are destined for my to-be-read-again-and-again shelf, and they set a new standard for Christian/Inspirational action/adventure fiction!

Oh. And when you're reading Firethorn, don't forget to breathe!